PRIDE Inc. client arrested for assault

Friday

TAUNTON – A client of an adult program run by the nonprofit agency PRIDE Inc. was arrested Thursday afternoon for assaulting a woman with whom he’s been living, police said.

Paul Tully, 67, was charged with a single count of assault and battery on a person over 60.

Police said they took Tully into custody after receiving a call from the 74-year-old victim stating that he was beating her up.

Tully, who was standing with the victim in the driveway when police arrived, allegedly admitted to police that he grabbed the woman by her forearms after they argued over money.

The victim told police after Tully grabbed her arms, causing her “severe pain,” she ran outside and dialed 911. Tully, she said, followed and threatened to come back later and kill her.

The victim, police said, described herself as Tully’s full-time caretaker and said that she took him into her Taunton house seven years ago as part of an arrangement with PRIDE Inc., which receives state MassHealth funding for its adult foster care program.

The woman told police Tully has a bad temper and has assaulted her in the past but that she has let it go, because she needs the money.

She told police she’s aware Tully has “some disabilities” but that his temper is “out of control.” The argument, she said, was about the fact that he spends all his money on scratch tickets.

The police report notes that the woman suffered bruising on her arms but does not state she was transported to hospital.

It also states the couple has had a stormy relationship dating back at least to 2004 — when a drunken Tully was sprayed in the face with pepper spray by an officer while resisting arrest, after he allegedly threw hot coffee in the woman’s face.

The 2004 police report substantiates that description and also notes that Tully, before he drove off in his pickup truck, had yelled that he was going to kill the woman, which resulted in a charge of threatening to commit a crime, to whit murder.

Court documents also indicate Tully was a client in 2006 of Taunton-based nonprofit Community Counseling of Bristol County.

Beth Conaty, community living director at PRIDE Inc. says it’s been only two, and not seven, years since the victim agreed to bring Tully into her home as part of the agency’s adult foster care program.

But Conaty said the relationship between the victim and Tully dates back as far as three decades.

And that, she said, is the problem.

“The relationship has been exhausted. It’s past the point of return,” she said.

Conaty says Tully is spending the night in an “emergency placement” setting until long-term accommodations can be established.

“He still needs support (and) we still have a responsibility to meet those needs,” she said, adding that Tully meets the criteria for the adult foster home program.

“He’s not a serious threat,” to the general public, she said.

Conaty said PRIDE Inc. helped guide Tully during his appearance in Taunton District Court on Thursday.

“We got him through the arraignment and made sure his bail was posted,” she said.

Conaty described this week’s incident as “an unfortunate event” and says that Tully is contrite and has expressed regret.

“He’s 100 percent accountable for his actions, and he knows that. He’s very remorseful, and he’s upset with himself,” she said.